The Village Amid Arid Winds
by xxBlindDollxx
Summary: Centered around an unknown girl who was abandoned by the Akatsuki, within the walls of Sunagakure, this story follows her as she tries to prove her innocence to the intimidating, contentious Council and regain her freedom. However, once the Kazekage returns from his loathsome escapade - thoughts of freedom aren't the only things running through her mind.
1. Introduction

Amidst the seemingly peaceful afternoon, as the sand whirled underfoot, the Akatsuki had finally made their move. Tonight, they decided, the jinchūriki Gaara would be captured - and the great one-tailed beast, Shukaku, would be theirs. This in turn would begin the process of sealing every bijū the other villages held, and the organization would at last have their goal of peace within grasp.

When the two shrouded figures approached the gates to Suna, a bird aloft in the air beside the taller of the two, a Sunagakure council member greeted them with the utmost respect. The man had been working undercover for four years, without being aware of it, and had now found his master once more.

As Deidara, the partner of the intimidating Sasori of the Red Sand, made his way into the sky of the village, he asked the puppet master what they were to do with the luggage - which was wrapped within the tail feathers of one of his many pure white clay creatures.

"Dump it; we won't be needing it anymore. Let this village do what it pleases with it."

"Ah," was all the blonde answered in response before taking to the skies to scan the area of the soon to be battleground.

Evening drew closer, and the clay artist threw his spider shaped weapons near the unsuspecting scouts - from which point, they latched themselves onto the faces of the shinobi and were detonated, taking out their targets with them. Before anyone could discover what he had done, Deidara flew his unnatural bird to the edge of one of the buildings, that held a corpse already, and disposed of the extra weight he had been harboring. The body had rolled out of the unfurled feathers, and was left behind as the Akatsuki member continued with his assignment, only allowing himself one last glance before soaring off.

Not long after that, the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in the Sand addressed the suspicious bird and rode into battle upon his famous sand, that had protected him thus far. Soon another ninja grew weary, and as he checked up upon one of his scout colleagues, he discovered two laying bodies at the post. One was undoubtedly the man who had been put on watch duty, but the other one, the breathing one, was a face he did not recognize. As he gazed up, searching for an explanation, he spotted the clash overhead and prioritized the safety of the Kazekage; he immediately rushed downstairs and briefed his superiors of the situation between Gaara and the unknown person with whom he was fighting.

That night was one of the longest Suna had ever had to endure, as their entire existence was threatened. And, unfortunately for them, it ended with the people of the village crying out for their lost leader - who couldn't hear them any more. All that was left to show for the night were the crumbled outer walls, countless dead corpses, note traps, and the girl left behind - bundled in an Akatsuki cloak.


	2. The Wall

The following morning, while the entire village focused on either the disappearance of the Kazekage or rebuilding the outer walls without suffering anymore casualties, the young woman who had been found beside one of the murdered scouts was taken into custody and thrown into one of the temporary cells hidden below the village itself. Only a single guard was placed within the containment facility, for she was the only prisoner present and any other able hands were needed above ground.

When the girl awoke, from being drugged the previous night, she pawed through her now greasy blonde locks, trying to reduce the pain of her throbbing head somehow, and searched about the jail. The walls had been dug out of the rocky earth that sustained the village, and the bars glowed with the chakra running through them at all times, while the floor remained a sandy mess. Her childishly small hands were bound with bindings that soaked up whatever amount of chakra was poured into them, in attempts to keep her from using any possible ninjutsu.

She figured that she was somewhere in the Land of Wind, but had no inkling as to why she would be there - let alone in a cell. She then gazed down her body to find a coat laying at her feet - one that displayed red clouds bordered in white upon a black background. She recognized the clothing article all too well, and inferred that the cloak was the sole reason for her imprisonment.

As she opened her mouth to call a guard, no voice came out. She licked her lips to find the pink things drastically chapped, and her annoyance only grew as she realized her throat had run dry as well. She weighed her choices as to how to get the attention of the guard who must be down the hall, and decided to scooch her butt across the cold sand until she reached the bars. Swiftly, she slipped a shoe from off her foot and threw it at the wall to her right, hoping someone would have heard it. Eagerly, she waited as she strained her neck far back enough to view down the hall - as far as she could at the horribly awkward angle.

Sure enough a shinobi did appear, and as he stood in front of her, she proceeded to mime a choking throat and drinking a glass of liquid so that he may understand her. He scratched his wrapped head, which was part of the uniform for a ninja of the Hidden Sand Village she noted, and his decision was in her favor.

"Alright, I suppose that's allowed," he spoke as he wandered off back down the hall.

"_I really hope he meant the getting me a drink part and not the me dieing part," _she thought to herself with some humor.

After several more minutes, the young man returned holding a canteen of water, and cautiously handed it to the unknown prisoner. He was quite clearly new to this kind of job. She took the water in with careful hands, trying not to tap the edges of the bars, and gratefully unscrewed the cap off the tan container. Once she had had a few gulps of the liquid, she again opened her mouth to speak, "Thank you for that, I was desperate," she chuckled out the last part as she placed the canteen next to her, after screwing the cap back on. The guard just kept staring back at her, unsure of how to respond. Her lips then scrunched up to the left side of her face as she thought of how to ask her next question, "How did I get here?"

"You were found up on one of our guard towers, alongside one of the men of our village who was murdered last night; that's what my squad leader told me."

"Lovely," her face fell in an unamused fashion, "Now when will I be able to give my defense?"

"To be honest, since I know you can't do any more damage than our security has already sustained, I don't know; our village is in need of a giant amount of repairs and all efforts are being directed there. There are a few others who aren't at physical work, but I think they are worrying over the disappearance of our Kazekage. The Akatsuki took him last night - in other words the same murderous group that your coat suggests you are a part of."

Her gray sapphire eyes grew wide. "Oh, damn," she moved her hands up to her face and held it as she added, "I'm never getting out here at that rate." She then hoisted herself up off her butt, and settled back down next to the right wall of the cell.

The new guard was curious over your reaction. "You're not going to throw a tantrum about not being let out?"

"No, not really. If I was a part of the village that was worried someone being of the same organization, I wouldn't let myself out either," her hands fanned out in understanding. "But," she continued, "there might be a way for me to help rebuild your wall faster - the downside would be that I can only help at night," she then thought about this for moment. "However, I doubt any official would let that happen unless of dire need." She smiled at the childish thoughts of helping when in such a state as imprisoned, but then noticed the brunette haired was leaving. "Aw, you're leaving me?" she sounded genuinely hurt.

"I'll go ask."

"Really?" she was surprised.

"The village needs to be rebuilt as soon as possible, before the nations catch wind of our predicament. If that happened…" he trailed off, shook his head, then kept walking as if on an urgent mission.

She heard a metallic door screech open and close with a loud slam, and suddenly wished she could plan a covert getaway - which unfortunately was not her forte.

What seemed like hours upon hours dragged on before she heard anything else, but finally the man returned. "Alright, all the other men who were working on the site have been evacuated so that none of them can be injured if this is a tricks of some sort, and so they may have rest before tomorrow. But, many other ninja will be posted near the area to make sure you do not escape - one of which was taught by Lord Kazekage himself."

"Okay," was all she answered as he opened up her cell and she rose to her feet.

Once he had removed the shackles that bound her wrists, he commented, "Y'know you're much shorter than I thought you were."

Annoyance became present on her features, but she merely retorted with, "I have short legs, okay?"

When the duo walked up the stairs and through the village, as everyone else slept, she stopped her pace when she saw herself in the window. "Can I take a shower or something after this is over? My hair is my favorite feature and right now it looks as if it got attacked by a sewer rat."

"That was nice imagery, so I'll allow it," he laughed.

"Sweet." She was rather grateful that the guard assigned to her was new at this, for she knew that she was getting away with a lot as it was. Tilting her head to the side, as she strolled down the dusty streets, she wondered how she was even allowed to help with the reconstruction of village. Though, she put off pondering it and instead just rejoiced at the feeling of being out of confinement.

Even from afar, she was able to see the amount of damage that had been dealt to the entrance of the village, but the closer they got - the more apparent it was. She gave an exasperated sigh before the work even began, and then weaved her ninjutsu sign as they approached the crumbled wall. The young man behind her kept a keen eye on her every move, but was caught off guard as something loomed out from below the ground and took shape in front of them. She held her arm out as he was about to throw a kunai at it, and she instead directed him to just observe.

The shadow creature looked like a towering bubble of sludge, about ten feet tall, but she communicated with it as if she was used to its form. "The wall needs to be repaired for this village; if you could direct a team to use their sludge as a form of cement while stacking up the remains - that would be most helpful." The creature grunted, which she took as positive, and a few more rose from the depths under her request.

After a few hours, the sluggish beings had managed to get a third of the wall done before slinking back into the ground, having used too much of the girl's chakra to stay together as a collective of goop any longer.

"Is that why you could only work at night?" the guard asked as they both headed back toward the jail.

"Yes, my jutsu is helpful, but is inconvenient in that respect. Most of the creatures I can create require a large amount of shadows and moisture, which is usually only available at night - especially in a place such as this. The lack of moisture ate up a more substantial amount of chakra than usual because of it."

"Well," his sincerity was clear in his words, "it's a big help in a time like this, so I'm glad that a prisoner like you showed up."

She couldn't quite share in his happiness, but was kind enough to say, "It's no problem; the faster this wall is built, the faster I can be released." She began to kick a stone that had strayed from the front of the village, and added, "Though hopefully the Kazekage returns as well - for that is something even I can't help with." He nodded and lead you back to the cell, replacing the bindings upon your wrists. He returned a few moments later with food, and then disappeared for the rest of the night.


	3. Before the Council

The nameless guard held little conversation with her as he brought the blonde's daily meals, while his alternate - who was assigned after the outer wall was repaired - refused to even acknowledge the girl, and this was the routine over the next several days. This schedule made it difficult to withstand the time within the dark cell, the only lighting leading in from down the hallway, and she slept through most of it. Being awake was of no amusement when there was nothing to entertain herself with.

After what seemed like an eternity, the constant humming of the chakra running through the bars ceased, causing her to awaken, and Alternate pulled back the sliding, barred gate. The small girl slowly lifted her head off of the rugged wall and raked her hands down her oily face, trying to awaken her senses. "What's happening?" her voice was just short of a grumble.

"You will shower and then stand before the Council." The burly man stated with confidence, before proceeding to lead her down the hallway, retrieve a new set of clothes, thrust them toward the her, and then leave the teenager to shower; whilst shutting the door firmly behind him, he voiced a few threatening, parting words.

A few moments passed before she finally shed her clothes and let them slump to the floor. "The Council is as fussy as ever, not wanting to deal with the stench of a prisoner," she chuckled before slipping under the faucet of the shower. Luckily, in this instance, the water always started out warm in Sunagakure, and she welcomed the feeling of stripping away the dirt and natural oils. It hadn't been since the night after she arrived that she had last showered, and it was a comforting change. The lighting was rather bright in comparison to her previous surroundings, and she felt saddened that she would have to leave it soon enough.

Once she felt that she should not keep the guard waiting any longer, she turned off the valve and stepped toward the towel and change of clothes. It was a traditional set of Sand Village garments, with matching robes of green and white. She figured there was no official uniform for the prisoners of the village, and now that she took the time to think of it, the girl never remembered the village ever having kept a prisoner alive for so long. "The village really must be in distress if they're not even going through protocol," she whispered. From a glance to a glare, her demeanor changed when seeing the Akatsuki cloak that laid upon the floor. It was the whole reason she were there in the first place. She shook the negative thoughts away, knowing they would be of no use in her situation. Finally dressed, she slipped out the door and met with Alternate - leaving the intimidating article of clothing behind.

The trek toward the center of the village, where the building holding Kazekage's office and Council's discussion room was, was a sweltering venture. Though soon enough, the spherical top of the structure grew larger and they soon entered the thankfully air conditioned place. Next they strode through a hallway and up the steps; finally arriving in front of the Council's open arch, she took a deep breath and held it as they passed through the entryway.

At first, the members stayed silent, but one of the older members stated the charges she was brought in under, and asked how she pleaded in conspiring to kidnap the Kazekage.

"I am innocent of of trying to capture the him. I had no hand in doing any harm to this village," she spoke evenly.

"Then how are you associated with the organization known as the Akatsuki?" another member piped up, anger laced within his words.

The small female took another deep breath, trying to calm any nerves, and explained that she had been a traveling kunoichi who helped to escort nobles whenever they needed to make a fast getaway in the dead of night. However one day, while passing between The Land of Rivers toward a mission in Tanigakure, she had been intercepted by a two man squad wearing dark robes that were decorated in red clouds with white outlines. The tall blonde with the cool smirk was named Deidara, meanwhile the belittling, hunched over man was introduced as Sasori. Both of these names she recognized, as she had to keep records of the rogue ninja who ran about while she traveled between the lands - and she knew to be of no match to them, especially during midday.

"I had asked them why they revealed themselves to me, and they claimed that they needed a faster method of finding potential hideouts. Apparently they had been tailing me for awhile, and knew that I could locate the best possible, remote areas," she ran her pale hand through her hair, but after running into a few knots she gave up and let her hand fall to her side. "They also had studied my jutsu of using the blob creatures for both fights and obstacles, so they figured any grunt work while renovating the hideouts could be taken care of without their assistance. They were keen on that last reason; from what I could tell - several of the members were lazy," she laughed a bit, but silenced herself soon after when no humor was returned.

"Is that your story?"

"Yes."

"Then how did you end up here?"

"Once all of the locations between the Land of Wind to the Land of Fire were completed, their leader decided I was of no further use to them."

The oldest man in the room leaned back in his chair and folded his hands. "Why wouldn't they just kill you?"

"Strangely enough, the leader was rather considerate whenever others helped with their 'cause', so I have to assume that played a role. However, I didn't know of their plan to get rid of me, but I will admit I feel much safer here than any day I spent with them in sunlight." She gazed down at her wrapped shoes and thought back to the threats she had been given by the shrouded members.

"Were you ever an official member?" a man with two red markings on the right side of his face got up from the table and had a demanding aura about him.

Her pale, blue-grey eyes glazed over with hatred. "No. The cloak that accompanied me was most likely property of your runaway, Sasori. He owns many cloaks for his many puppets that he rides within."

"Rode." The middle aged man smirked.

Complete shock overcame her features. "He's d-dead?"

His smile fell. "Do you feel sympathy?"

The kunoichi shook her head. "N-no but that's an impressive feat! And Deidara?"

"We received word that he blew himself up, but there was no confirmation of remains."

"Baki! Do not share information with the prisoner!" the oldest man scolded.

"I was only giving her the message that we are a capable village, and that any actions taken against us will result in the same treatment that they got." The other man gave a "hmph" and made a motion for one of the supervising shinobi to come closer to him. Whispering was shared, but it was inaudible at her distance.

The shinobi left the room, but after a few minutes of silence, he returned with female ninja and each of them grabbed one of the mysterious girl's arms. "Where are we going?"

The old man chimed in, "I don't believe your story, and you have yet to reveal your identity. Now we must resort to our next phase, and any secrets your hiding will be spilled in minutes." The elder had a genuine etched on his face, but her's revealed a look of horror. "See the young lady out please, and bring back word if she says anything to the medical ward; I will be checking up on Lord Kazekage's current condition." Alternate and the female then gripped her arms tighter, and led the girl away from the bright, stagnant room.

"_So he got away," _she thought to herself as she was shuffled out.


	4. Itsy Bitsy Spider

As she was being lead away from the Council's circular room, the young kunoichi knew that any extra information she confessed now would only lead them to suspect her further, so she uttered nothing. The shuffled pace was agonizingly lengthy, so her pale eyes began to wander about her surroundings. The floor was a murky color, as if honey had its sticky self mixed together with damp red clay to create the un-paneled surface, meanwhile the walls were made of a natural stucco that appeared to be tinged green by the shadows being cast by the inverted ceiling lights. The imperfections in the walls only became more prominent as she passed by each of them.

Soon the passageway morphed into a stone-step stairwell, and all lighting became nonexistent as she continued to descend into the void. Eventually her feet found level ground, but she knew her mind was in for a topsy turvy adventure. Suddenly two palms placed themselves on her shoulders and forced her figure downward; she gave up the struggle once she felt the solid, surely wooden, seat below her. She was about to ask what was taking place, but was cut short when she felt her body involuntarily lurch a few centimeters forward before settling back into place; someone had bound her in a genjutsu. A harsh fixture then flickered on, causing the blonde to wince and squint her eyes as it brought a searing pain to her ocular nerves.

A silhouette roughly came into view, presenting nothing but a darkened, broad frame.

"Let's start with something easy," the man suggested, but his voice resonated as if multiple, ominous beings were all speaking at once, "what is your name?"

The girl puckered her lips slightly, contemplating what to tell the man, when he urged her that the time to confess was now, so she opened her mouth to speak. "Akiko is my name."

Suddenly a blunt force rammed into the side of her angular features, and she could feel the bones crunching within her face. "We know when you're lying, little girl; your chakra flow reflects it," the man practically sang in mockery.

She fidgeted in her seat, her swollen lip twitching in agitation at how he addressed her, as a line of blood began trickling down to her chin. "S-Suomi. My name is Suomi." There was a stutter in her solid words merely because she had bit her tongue when the previous blow had hit her.

"That's better," he purred. The male then began to circle about her, as a vulture might inspect its prey in the dry, unforgiving desert. "Now," he paused and leaned over the back of the girl's chair, but if she tried to turn her view toward him - she was only met by the blinding light, "what else did you do for the organization known as the Akatsuki?"

Suomi slowly began to suppress her chakra, trying to prevent any spikes in its flow if she lied again. "I told the Council already; I only helped them create their hideouts." She kept a cool, composed aura as she cooed her words, but yet another fist met her face, this time causing the opposite side's bones to splinter.

The broad man sighed, circled around again so that he stood in front of her, then showed her his back as he folded his hands behind him. His expression remained unknown. "I can tell this is getting us nowhere. Since you continue to spin your lies, I'm afraid we'll have to try something a little different." She peered past her swollen, bruised cheeks, wondering quite what he meant by those words dripping with hostility, when she suddenly felt her feet grow cold. A noise flowed into her eardrums, presumably from behind her, and immediately caught the teenager's attention.

_Tap...Tap...Tap...Tap...T-_

It was the sound of water seeping its way down from the ceiling and them spattering itself against the stucco below. She was paralyzed, unable to shift her gaze to face the synchronized drops, and her head bobbed ever so slightly as each drop, one after the other, hit the floor in its incessant fashion - slowly drilling into her mind. Suomi knew this wasn't the only trick to the jutsu, no matter how vexatious the one detail was, and she waited patiently for the next occurrence.

"Don't get too excited now," she snapped her head back up, not realizing she had it hung, at the sound of the jōnin's multitude of voices - but was surprised to find that the man was no longer in front of her, or even near her. The scenery had changed in his place, to a warm, cloudless, sunny day, but the sky was not the alarming part. The petite girl felt herself gain mobility in her shoulders and neck again, but she peered down only to gawk at her own reflection in the water. The scene held her atop an ocean of cyan, crystal blue water, while a heated, tropical sun hung brilliantly above her. She knew, however, that this was no vacation and took the opportunity to mellow out her chakra levels further, praying they would not fail her a third time.

"Let's try this again," the voice came from an unknown location, yet she whipped her head back and forth, frantically searching for him. Just then, the suspicious girl felt the chair give way and sharply sink a few inches - then it abruptly stopped at her scrawny ankles.

"Oh shit," the teenager managed to mutter before being totally engulfed by the sea. The girl held her breath for as long as she possibly could, struggling to gain control of her hands and feet, fully well knowing she was still wrapped securely by the genjutsu, when her chair shot up in the salty water - and finally burst out from under the surface. Suomi coughed and hacked, trying to loosen the tightness of her chest, before she glanced up to see the man's full figure standing perfectly upon the water. However, she didn't have time to analyze his full profile; a smirk had crossed his face. She was barely able to grab ahold of another breath before being plunged back into the depths.

The process was repeated a few more times before she was ultimately able to rest upon the chair. Her eyes had grown red with the burning sensation the salt water had caused, and her lungs desperately tried to recuperate after having been crushed time and time again by just the sheer weight and pressure the ocean had pushed upon her. Once the coughing had died down, and the breathing had become less staggered, the man approached the soaking wet blonde once more.

"Are you finished lying to me now?" She merely nodded, exhaustion dragging on her every action. Sporting a beige, flak jacket that only broadened his appearance more with the use of its shoulder guards, the man wore the standard attire of his village.

"Right then, what was it you did for the Akatsuki again?"

She filled her aching lungs and announced through the agony, "I helped them gain intel," she paused, checking to see the shinobi's unchanged expression, and then continued with, "on top of what I already explained."

"Go on," he spoke in an even tone as he shifted over to stand behind her once more.

"The two rogue ninja I had encountered demanded that I give them my services in terms of connections. They needed someone who wasn't in the bingo book to freely walk the streets of the villages - to gain information regarding where the other jinchūriki were located."

"Was our Kazekage one of the jinchūriki you were ordered to find?"

Suomi shook her head before entering a violent coughing fit, and he thankfully gave her a few moments to recover from it. She licked the saliva that had escaped from the corner of her mouth, and becoming visibly displeased with the taste of both salt water and sweat, then continued her story, "With Sunagakure being as open as it was about its bijū, they didn't need to put much research into it. I was mostly involved with the two-tails and three-tails search but-" she unexpectedly began to vomit some of the water that seemed to still plague her stomach back up, and then consciously tried to steady her breathing.

"But?" he cocked an unseen eyebrow.

"But," she kept speaking, "I never would have betrayed this village even if they asked me to."

"Oh, and why's that, pray tell?"

"Even they didn't know this, but I'm an unregistered rogue of the Village Hidden in the Sand." She let a smile slip its way onto her flawed features, remembering fond childhood memories of the games she could only play in the desert.

"Suomi, was it?" he questioned.

"Yes, though it has been a long time since I was last called that."

"Which shinobi level were you?"

"A chūnin; I was a subordinate under Captain Setsuko."

"Setsuko, huh?" she could hear nostalgia coursing through his words but he relayed nothing as he asked, "Why did you abandon the village, 'Suomi'?"

The girl hung her head as she admitted, "Because I was left behind," when she heard no response she continued, "Our team had been sent out on a mission toward Iwagakure, hoping to smooth out a few disagreements between the two villages, but we ran into some obvious traps laid out along the way." She then disclosed that she had sprung one of the deadliest traps, a large array of weapons had been projected towards her, and she was on the brink of death by the end of it.

However, even with her still breathing and eyeing her team - they had left her with only a few parting words. The Sand Village was known for carrying out its missions at whatever cost, for success was always put before life, and that particular assignment had been no exception. Then, as she made a staggered effort to get back up that same night, strange, luminescent creatures stumbled upon her. Unable to communicate vocally, they simply aided the mysterious girl in the dense forest and wished for nothing in return. These creatures, who did not speak, understood her and cared for her during a dire time; they had established a stronger bond within half an hour - than she had with her teammates who she had known for years. She soon filled out a contract with the blobs and was happy to have their company in her travels.

"After I had fully recovered I could have come straight home," her voice had softened to the point where the older shinobi had to step closer, "but after learning what a comrade truly was, I no longer felt Sunagakure was a place I could happily return to. I had grown appalled by the actions of my captain and teammates, and figured that's how it would always be if I continued to be a ninja for this village. Purposely I tossed my headband out into the trees, after first scratching through the symbol, and started a new life. Though, I did still feel tied to this place, so I vowed I would never betray it."

The man behind her remained silent, mulling over the story and letting it sink in, then broke the reality altering genjutsu. The room the dirty blonde now sat in was the previous one, but it wasn't harshly lit anymore and was empty, with only stark white walls adorning it. "I believe your story," he claimed before appearing in front of her for the umpteenth time, "I will report what you have told me to the Council and they will decide what to do with you then."

"You're not not going to question me about the Akatsuki personally?" she inquired, curious.

"No," he firmly stated as he took several steps toward the now visible staircase, "the only members you claim to have been in contact with we already have information on. If we _do_ need anything else from you in the future, keep in mind a far worse method may be used if you resist." She gulped as the older shinobi trudged up the steps without another word.

A few moments later, Alternate arrived and said he would be escorting her back to the oh-so-familiar cell. She felt somewhat cheeky, now that she had told part of her story, and asked him what he thought of her new face, but when he only gave her a stern, questioning glance as she began to rub the sides of her face, gently. She realized the punches had been part of the genjutsu too.


	5. Progress

A/N: Hey guys, this is my first author note here in the story, so yay! I'm sorry if this chapter is boring, but I promise more prominent, canon characters will appear in the story soon! DX

School has started, so if any of you are interested in this story being updated in tolerable intervals, please review or simply PM me; I'm not one to hold chapters captive, I assure you chapters will be posted either way, but I wanna know who wants to see what happens next to little Suomi :)

Thank you for reading; enjoy!

* * *

Not even a full day seemed to pass before a messenger was sent to fetch both Suomi and "First", the guard who was first assigned to her, so they could stand before the Council yet again.

The mild trek to the center building was hindered a bit by the buffeting sand storm that raged aggressively outside the village's wall, but the golden, rough winds were subdued enough within the perimeter's borders that even the children still ran a muck. The teenage girl wore a warm smile, despite the scalding daylight that rivaled the constant cool air she had grown accustomed to below ground, and even giggled a bit as the youth teased one another over crushes. The shortest boy, adorned with flaming orange hair, obviously had affection toward the girl with the bouncing ebony curls, and the boy's lighter haired brother kept poking fun at him.

"He so has a crush on you, Kotone-chan!" the older brother teased while beaming with mischief.

"He does not, stupid Takeo! Susu-kun was just being nice - unlike some people I know," the tiny girl huffed and puffed as a steady blush bloomed across her cheeks.

Suomi silently bid the trio luck and continued to follow after both First and the messenger, feet alight with delight that she was out and about again so soon.

"Once this all clears up, I'm gonna learn your name you know," assured amusement wove through her words.

The young man glanced down at her, after she had caught up to stroll beside him, scratched his wrapped head, and carefully answered with, "You have bigger problems than learning the name of a posted guard."

She tilted her head back, covered her eyes for protection using her bound hands, and cast a glance above to view the sand sweeping winds. "Yes, that may be true," she spoke delicately, gazing up as the golden dust danced and whirled through the air currents, and then returned her light eyes back to Earth, "but being stuck in a cell causes the mind to ponder the most frivolous things." She fought the urge to nudge him and utter, "_Plus, who knows, we might have been genin together."_

* * *

This time when the blonde passed through into the Council's room, she didn't hold the same nervousness she had just the previous day. First had left to go stand just outside in the hall, leaving only her and a select few members still within the space.

"You wished to see me," Suomi stated more than questioned, hoping that today wouldn't again lead her to the "torture chamber".

The oldest man had been one of the remaining members left in the room. "It would seem that the kunoichi 'Suomi' does exist within our records," he placed a file photo upon the table and used the slightest bit of wind chakra to send it down to the end of the table closest to her. "Where was this picture taken?"

The image was of her as a child, bearing a toothy, if not geeky, smile with her periwinkle eyes almost hidden by her drastically raised cheeks. The headband she wore across her forehead remained scratch free, and the Sunagakure symbol stood out boldly.

"Not having a well-established academy system at the time, our genin pictures were taken after the completion of our first mission outside of the village. Setsuko-sensei took it just outside of the Land of Wind's border, because my team and I were returning home from Amegakure. We had delivered a simple scroll," a grin once again spread across her features, "I remember being happy that day; I didn't get even a single nick on my headband." Her head tilted back up to peer back at the elder, her signs of happiness having fallen.

"Very well," he announced with a bile ridden tone, "then we have no reason to doubt your identity." The man paused his speech and raised himself up from his seat; his draping, tan robe swayed against his side as he neared one of the rounded windows. The storm was still swarming outside. "Now that the Hidden Leaf Village has proved to be a formidable ally, it would appear we must call upon them again."

"Sir?" She wondered how Konoha could possibly be involved with her case. She was beginning to grow impatient with waiting for her name to be cleared. "_The Council is just trying to keep me off the streets for as long as they possibly can."_

"There is a man there who claims to know a great deal about the Akatsuki, and if he is unable to link you to any other activities than what you have mentioned to us - we shall see to loosening your leash."

"_Am I some kind of mutt now?" _She gritted her teeth but remained silently composed as he continued, now facing her.

"That is all we have to say on the matter. We know not when he will arrive, for he is known for his travels," the councilman ambled back over to his chair and folded his hands atop the round conference table, "That is all."

The girl simply nodded, wanting nothing more to do with the elder, and exited the room with a bow. First practically leaped out of his roughened skin when she rounded the wall, clearly not having been paying attention to the meeting, and she only gave him an expression that read, "_Really dude, really?"_

* * *

About another week passed before Suomi heard anything pertaining to her case. Sitting in the cell, contained by an utter silence, had been a far worse punishment than the actual torture she had endured previously. The blonde often plummeted into dreams of drowning over and over again - to the point where she now fought against the impulse of sleeping.

The dreams always started in the same manner. The small girl would just have woken from a nap, having been freed of exhaustion, and would then proceed to call over the brunette guard. After having her silently laugh at his skeptical reaction, the Sand shinobi would then pivot to return to his post - but he would never get there. Sound would once again become audible as the noise of gushing water filtered through both their sets of ears. The male ninja would push his hands forward, as if he could block the onslaught of waves coming toward him, but he would rapidly be swept away by the rushing current. The waves would widely barrel over him, as if he was struck by an entire wall, and then the water would begin to engulf the kunoichi's cell. With water pouring in at a stunning speed, a layer of whipped foam would begin to form atop the devastating force. Next, she would trudge over to the bars with the little strength she could muster, seeking to remove the chakra seal somehow, but her bound hands would be rendered useless. By this point the violent liquid will have pooled to her shins, then her thighs, and she would begin to kick and paddle furiously, trying desperately to survive. The water would rise continuously, and once her hands could lay flat upon the ceiling - her throat will have grown dry and rasped from screaming for help.

However, no one would hear the struggling girl and the level will have already risen to the height where there would no longer be air to breathe. After a few moments her attempt to latch onto her only breath would begin to slip from her burning lungs, and her limbs will have grown exhausted from their constant effort of keeping her from sinking. Eventually she would let go of her grasp, allowing her body to go limp, and Suomi would begin to fade into a lifeless darkness.

Alternate had just woken the blonde up from one of these such dreams, a cold sweat still fresh on her chilled skin, when he informed her that Konoha's guest had arrived. Shakily, the prisoner rose to her feet, slipped on her sandals, and shuffled out of the unlocked unit. The seemingly bald man didn't ask about her mental state and instead instructed her to hurry up.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she held a hand up to rest flat over her mouth. She longed for freedom; the prisoner missed having a plush bed and the idea of warm meals waiting for her at home everyday. The strict man didn't speak to her again as they journeyed through the village, but his usually harsh eyes seemed drab that day.

When the girl stepped through the arch and into the now familiar conference room, the Council members had been busy bickering amongst themselves.

"Shouldn't Lord Kazekage be present?" one member she had never heard from concernly questioned.

"Fool! He just finished recovering a few days ago; he has far more work upstairs than he does down here."

"Not to mention that we have this issue covered ourselves; we need to prove to the citizens that we still can operate - without that _boy's _help."

"Don't talk about Gaara-sama that way; he helped save our village with his very life!"

A hush then settled over the table as a man coughed from the far corner of the room, signaling them that Suomi had entered. The aged man's hair was a solid white and appeared to have been teased to its greatest length. From the side she could see, a tiny wart sat at the top of his nostril and red paint had been brushed in a single stroke from the eye all the way down to his jaw line, mirroring a red tear. Upon his horned headband read the word "Oil" and his clothes consisted of a muck green kimono outfit with a red haori thrown over it.

"Yo, Little lady," he greeted with a grin, trying to ease the tension hanging in the atmosphere. She wondered how the Sand Village could even allow a fun harboring, foreign soul infiltrate the premises. The teenager grinned back, thankful for the first genuine smile in weeks.

"Suomi-san," she directed her attention back onto the oldest, most haggard member of the Council - who always babbled the most, "this is Jiraiya-sama, one of the three legendary Sannin of Konohagakure." Her periwinkle colored eyes widened to this news and she immediately bowed to the man. "He is here to share his information regarding the Akatsuki, and to clear up any confusion concerning your _special _case," the venom oozed from his words, showing his obvious agitation with the situation. She figured the other members were the only reason she was still breathing.

"Do you recognize her, Jiraiya-sama?" one of the youngest members piped up.

The man pushed himself off from leaning on the wall and stood with folded arms, holding a steady gaze. "I do."

She gulped. "_Damn."_


	6. Release

A/N: Thanks to Sky Hatake for the PM on the last chapter! :) I hope the rest of you guys are enjoying the series thus far ^.^

* * *

The air had grown static after Jiraiya uttered the words that conveyed he had recognized Suomi. Suddenly the towering Kazekage statutes that stood behind in the background seemed to loom over the scene, perturbingly; they resembled a manifestation of all of the girl's anxieties within that moment.

The toad sage opened his mouth to elaborate, only causing her to tense up more, "Whenever there were indications of Akatsuki movement, this girl was often reported to have been in the area beforehand; however, she usually remained in the expanse between the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire."

"Do you know to what extent she was involved in, concerning the group?" asked a younger member with thick dark eyebrows.

The jagged white haired shinobi turned toward the entire Council. "From my knowledge, she only worked as a communicator between the criminals and the common folk. None of my sources were able to link her personally to anything that lead to murders - or even suggested violent interrogations. Not to mention," he held a steady gaze as he crossed the room, making a constant clacking noise against the clay floor with his scarlet geta, and he then placed an open palm upon the young girl's clothed shoulder, "this little thing looks like she couldn't hurt a toadstool, let alone a person. Her hands don't even look like that of a hardworking shinobi!"

She began to rub her soft, childlike hands against one another while self-consciously staring down at them . "I like smooth hands and clean nails. The one time I ever chipped a nail in training, I whined for three days and wore gloves. I also hate gloves - and I don't absolutely hate many things."

He heartily chuckled at her response and joked to the authorities, "I could threaten to turn her into a frog, and that might make her talk, but I'm sure any method you guys already used was effective enough on the young lady."

She peered up at the aged figure with no real emotion showing. "_We both know they want me to be Akatsuki, so they can get whatever they can out of me, and _I _know they're willing to beat me within an inch of my life if that's what it takes."_

The sage did present the point that the job of a go-between was indeed all they would require her to be, since they couldn't draw attention to themselves yet, and the girl couldn't intimidate any living creature. "C'mon give me your best threatening glare," when the small person complied with the coldest expression she could muster, the older gentleman only bellowed out in amusement, "See, that sorry excuse was horrible!"

"Maybe that's just what they wanted their victims to think, before they could strike," the member closest to Suomi commented, and she mentally questioned how the man could even see the meeting taking place, considering his eyes were completely shut throughout the entirety of it.

"Settle down, men, you're still dealing with a teenage girls who seems to have a level head on her shoulders, and I believe she only did what she was told to protect herself. Even as a tool she wouldn't be protected by that band of S-rank criminals if negotiations went sour. She already admitted that her only formidable jutsu is useless unless used after dark." He held his chin in his hand, pondering something. "Though, I do find it hard to believe she could get any dire information knowing this, unless…" he trailed off mid-sentence, as a pink dust settled upon his cheeks, and the blonde couldn't help but punch his gut, furious at the suggestion. She knew her strength was rather pitiful, but it was enough to get her irritation across. "You're right," he carried on after a sweat drop had formed and slid down the surface of his face, "you couldn't work like that; you would need to use a transformation jutsu all the time - just to have a decent cup size," he snickered immaturely at the last part.

Suomi then realized what the Sannin was doing; the older shinobi was trying to convince the Council in her favor, by showing her instinctual reactions, proving she couldn't do much harm. However, even acknowledging this, her head made an obvious ticking motion and her face flushed red with anger as she puffed out, "Pervert."

* * *

Reluctantly, the prisoner returned to her carved out cell for another couple of days, before finally being released from confinement. Someone had volunteered to babysit the girl, which allowed her to leave behind the suffocating, chilling containment unit.

When she exited the facility, her astonishment was evident to who had "broken" her out. As the light flooded over her sensitive eyes, she had expected to view a blinding, crazed white mane, but instead she found herself surveying an ebony colored cowl that reminded the Sand Village girl of the brown paper bag she used to bring for lunch every day at the Academy. It was a much younger man than the one she anticipated, and his face paint differed in that it was a berry colored purple that created a line across his eye-line, another overlapping his lips from one jawline to the other, and a short stroke from his lips down to his chin. The expression he wore below the paint was unfavorable to say the least.

"So you're the troublemaker," he scoffed, "I don't see why the Council made such a fuss and took so long coming up with a decision; you don't look all that special."

She held back the urge to mouth off with, "Maybe it's because your Council is too incompetent to handle anything properly," but instead answered with a deflated expression, "Sorry to disappoint." Her humor was as dry as the sand that swept by.

"Hmph." The older boy crossed his arms sternly, but a flicker of amusement passed through his minuscule, dark irises. "The name's Kankurō - and I was told yours, 'Suomi'."

Recognition then flashed through her contrasting light eyes and she lifted up her index finger. "You were the Fourth's son; you would always come by and make fun of us of younger genin when we were training!"

His arms fell to his sides and he arched an eyebrow. "That's not something I wish to be remembered for; I've matured into a man since then. I promise."

"But," she lowered her hand, "you just openly insulted me."

He rolled his eyes, not wanting to have to explain himself to the likes of someone on parole, and pivoted to face the opposite way. "Follow me; I'll show you where you'll be staying as long as you're on probation," he waved his hand toward the sand blanketed street and then strolled with his hands in his pockets; she followed after him like a little duckling. Through transit he threw over his shoulder, "By the way, don't even attempt escaping from me, because you won't have the chance to regret it later." His unwavering warning was more of a promise than a threat to the kunoichi's life.

After creating dust clouds in the gritty streets using the wake of their steps, they arrived at an immensely sized, stucco building that was much larger than the houses situated across from it. The home had the entire side of the street to itself, only adding to its regal atmosphere.

"Is this some special place where people go to to 'change their ways'?"

"No," he answered, with a smirk present upon his features, "this is my house, otherwise known as the Mansion of the Kazekage."

The female almost cheekily responded with, "Then it's not _your _house," but she held her tongue as she followed Kankurō into the impressive structure. At first she questioned why she would be kept in such close quarters with the three famous Sand Siblings, but then figured it was the most secure location above ground; the Kazekage and his siblings were some of the best ninja the village had ever known.

Later, subsequent to the awkward meal prepared by the hired help that had been eaten in silence by both her and the eldest sibling, they began to roam the halls, apparently on the prowl for somewhere in particular.

"Here it is," the puppeteer spoke in triumph as another smirk traced along his adorned face. "You will be staying here, in this side of the house."

"In my own wing?" the expression placed upon her features was one that read that she questioned the older boy's sanity.

"More like a really long hall," he stated as he clasped his hands behind his head, beginning to trek down the narrow passageway. The plaster was clearly of a higher quality, for there wasn't a perfection in sight - unlike the other buildings that littered the village, but dust and sand were so heavily caked, that she wondered if the residents had even been to this side of the house since the last leader was murdered. "You'll be passing most of supervised life in here," he turned the rusted knob of a door that at the end of the hall, yes the building was fancy enough to have actual, opening doors, and dusty cobwebs practically leaped out to cover both of their figures. "Looks like you have some work to do, Troublemaker," he managed choke out between strangled coughs, before turning to leave, but then he paused in his padded steps, "Oh, and sensory ninja are posted nearby - just for you." With that, his dark silhouette disappeared among the myriad of clay halls.

Suomi now understood the leniency in his actions up until that point. "No matter what, I'm still I'm still being watched, huh?" She smiled disheartedly before stepping into the forest of webs, beginning to inspect what she could salvage from the distressed room.

* * *

By the time the dirty blonde haired girl had finished scrubbing down the walls, floors, and furniture, with supplies _borrowed _from a far off broom closet, as well changed the tattered sheets of the forgotten bed, night had long since fallen over the desert. She guessed, by the height of the milky crescent moon that hung above the village, it to be somewhere between two and three AM.

"I haven't been awake this long in months," she commented to herself as she finally rested upon the bed and tossed away the outermost layer of the light robes and standard shinobi shoes she had been given. Next she allowed herself to lay down and tuck under the covers; the rush of aching pains in her now flattened back consumed her nerves and she muttered, "Ow," before rolling onto her stomach to return to her usual sleeping position.

However, even after what must have been an hour of shifting limbs, weight, and thoughts, the young kunoichi still could not be coaxed under the spell of sleep. "Ah, kill me," she whispered as an impulse, with no real thought put into the suggestion, and she rotated to rest onto her back, in frustration, once more. Her periwinkle orbs pierced through the room's veil of darkness, allowing her to scan the still wrecked ceiling. "I'll need to take care of that tomorrow...maybe even use a bit of chakra to get up there, now that I can…" her thoughts trailed off to where there was only noise running through her mind. The wind had still carried on its rage, never lifting through the last few days, and several currents still lingered - creating whistles as they grazed past the buildings that lined the streets of Sunagakure.

Unconsciously, she began to hum a tune she had thought she had lost years ago. "Here in the night I see the sun; here in the dark our two hearts our one. It's out of our hands - we can't stop what we have begun," again she trailed off, after listening to the rhythmic words she sang to herself softly. She then beamed through the night with a warm grin, thinking of past, fond memories that she still latched onto when alone and nostalgic.

"You have a soothing voice for someone labeled as a 'troublemaker'," an unknown voice penetrated, and dismissed, the once mellowed atmosphere.


	7. Fruit

A/N: First of all, thank you to the guest Fox Kit Princess and user Rain-kawa for the reviews - I really do appreciate them :) Second of all, I apologize if the story is slow so far (that's how it feels to me), I promise it will pick up speed later. And it's my birthday and so this is today's fruit and my gift to you guys XD I made it my goal to post today just for that fact.

Anyway, on to the story and I hope you guys enjoy!

* * *

Suomi's eyes popped open, having completely forgotten drifting off now, and her torso shot up out of her resting state at the sound of the comment. Gazing across the room, her light eyes settled upon a shadowed silhouette that had etched its way into the chamber. The few features she could make out were striking against the faded, cool desert sky; the person who owned the voice wore a long, flowing, ivory Sand Village robe atop a basic of blue, and, in a fiery contrast, the boy's hair was a deep red that rivaled the sun's daily paintings strewn behind the horizon of Sunagakure's walls. The young male's eyes, rimmed with darkened shades, seemed almost absent at the angle, but she could feel them bore chasms into her started person even still.

As the boy sat stunningly draped across the cutout-styled windowsill, she realized he must have been there for some time - for his position was a casual one (as casual as stalking can be anyway). The first thought that came to her mind was to compliment him, even if they appeared to be the same age, for his abilities of stealth were exceptional, but she knew what was expected of her and it was in her best interest at the moment.

Turning her head to face the doorway, hoping to cry out and call attention to her predicament of a stranger trespassing, she was distracted by shadowed movement flooding the room and a rough, coarse, gritty substance covered her mouth. Luckily, her nose remained untouched and she was still able to breathe, despite the vise secured against her lips.

"Do not yell," his tone was detached, but it held a strong connotation of threat. She slowly turned her head, in jerky intervals like an old metal, wind up toy, and saw that he had lifted his hand in front of him to control the sand that muzzled her. The frightened girl hesitantly nodded, and the natural weapon began to pour down from her face, gather into a single branch, and the golden grit finally flowed back to its master as if it were a lost soul and he a psychopomp.

All the while, her consciousness searched rapidly through her thoughts for the one name she felt she so desperately needed. At last, a name fell from her lips clumsily, "K-Kankurō-san...Kankurō-san!" she called more frantically with her strained voice reaching a new octave. The red haired boy remained a perched statue as she screamed, but then immediately withdrew from the space, as though he might have been a mere vision, and a few more moments passed before the blonde's door was violently erupted open. Revealed was a brunette boy whose black shirt hung lopsidedly over his shoulders and thin, beige pajama pants latched close to his form.

"What's happening?!" his voice exploded into the room, only adding to his booming entrance.

"Who are you?" She shrank back to the wall standing beside her bed as she muttered the feeble words.

"Who d'you think?" the paintless shinobi answered curtly as he crossed the hardwood floor, no longer sensing danger, before once again demanding a report of the situation.

"_Kankurō, duh," _she thought to herself stupidly. "There was a someone at my window," answered only by his silence, she figured she should elaborate, "Male, attractive, approximately my age, red hair, white robes, even tone of voice."

"Gaara," he appeared frustrated while mumbling the name, as he wove fingers through his usually hooded, tousled hair.

Her tired eyes grew wide with realization and her mouth hung slightly agape. "_That was the Kazekage, the monster of the village." _A small, hidden smile crept upon her expression in the darkness as she continued to ponder, "_What an out-of-character choice, Elders, bravo."_

The puppeteer soon left the scrubbed space, swearing obscenities under his breath as he went, and Suomi's tightened muscles slowly relaxed, her shoulders now slumping forward in a droop. Her head lazily tilted in the direction of the window, and this time - she was not at all surprised to find the figure looming there, as if it had grown comfortable in the spot. No implication of alertness flickered through her light eyes nor did she utter a word after disobeying the sand wielder. She had become completely subdued with exhaustion and only peered over him with a half-lidded, glazed view.

Several moments of silence were exchanged, the only sound coming from the restless winds that howled past, before the handsome shinobi spoke again, "You yelled for your handler anyway; that was a rational decision." Gaara then stood up in the window space, demonstrating his short stature yet intimidating personality, allowed his robes to graze the top of the sill, pivoted to face the village, and finally leaped down onto the elevated sand that hung just above the skyline. His form was a favorable one as he rode away with his arms crossed, almost reminding her of the way Deidara rode on his "masterpieces", and she thought about how odd it must have been for him to return to Sunagakure. Cheers had been erupting in the village weeks before, when he supposedly came back from wiping out her previous bosses, and it definitely differed from when the entire village shunning the boy out of repulsion and fear. Had he despised them for suddenly regarding him as a hero - after so many years of mistreatment? Though, he was their leader, so maybe he had already grown to forgive them, unlike any other Sand Shinobi might. Suomi knew she would never possess that kind of emotional strength and could finally relate back to the ones who now kept her captive.

She took a few more seconds to gawk at his exit before uttering under her breath, "He's not only alive, but he can also still manage his chakra release without Shukaku. You, sir, are a superb Kazekage indeed." The blonde then rested her head against the inviting, but aged and moth eaten, pillow and welcomed a much needed slumber.

* * *

Once the girl finally woke again, morning light flooded through the open window, allowing the sand from the storms in with it. Glaring at the golden dust that pooled over the floor and littered her sheets, Suomi mentally scolded herself for not shutting the glass opening the previous night. She grumbled a couple of curses before slipping out of bed and redressing into the formal robes of olive and white. Even with a spring complexion, the drab robes made her feel a twinge of displeasure as she missed her original Akatsuki coat - or rather one of the coats of the deceased puppet master. She mulled over the thought of Sasori actually being dead, while lazily tying her hair up into a bun using only another thick stand of her dirty blonde locks. "I wish I could have done him in myself," she snarled with disgust as she turned the worn knob with a steady grip and strolled through the clay constructed doorway, searching for nourishment.

With her sense of direction being distorted, despite her previous occupation it always had been, she felt lucky that she possessed the skill that let her retrace any of her taken steps. And after pacing through winding halls, she located the kitchen to see it completely vacant of others. Taking this as a good omen, she foraged for any easily preparable scraps possibly left by the main residents of the estate. She didn't want to rummage for long, so she picked an apple dowsed in a swirl of warm colors from off the counter and harshly bit into it. However, being the weakling that she was, her bite did not procure any of the fruit and instead only left sunken teeth marks in the firm thing. Suomi puffed out hot air and once again pressed her teeth over the skin of the apple; finally, she was able to rip off a chunk of the food and gain at least _some _nutrients.

"It really shouldn't be this hard to eat an apple." She glared down at it, disapproving its struggle to stay out of her stomach, while unattractively gnashing on the hunk in her mouth. Though her pale eyes slowly softened as she realized her diet had been horrible while passing her days in the cell, hindering the strength she somewhat possessed in the first place. The teenager then wondered what exactly she would do now that she was out. Did she see a future branching out from her past? Could she even wander about the village to think, and if so, did she have to wait for Kankurō to escort her?

Remembering a detail, the kunoichi sank back against the tan, riveted cabinetry of the island, clinging to the only shadows available in the kitchen, and focused her chakra into her hands. After weaving several signs and biting her thumb so that it dripped blood, she poured the least amount of possible power into the scrollwork that fanned out from her palms, slapped against the terracotta tiles of the floor, and whispered, "Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu." A plume of smoke made a popping noise as it unfurled from the technique, parting to reveal a tiny, onyx colored creature the size of her pinky nail. She smiled giddily to herself, delicately tapped a single index finger on its head, and let a few more helping drops plop into the blob. An eye on the creature then blinked open, fluttered from the new sense that was granted, and peered up at the enormous girl, awaiting directions accordingly. The user twirled the same finger through the air, signaling a perimeter scan that sent the creature trudging toward the edge of the wall before silently gliding into the limited darkness.

Minutes passed before the moist, damp creature apparated in front of her again, and when it did appear - a much larger appendage shaped like a hand began to pool from its pipsqueak of a body.

"Two, huh? I suppose that's appropriate; the chakra bonds were released after all." She then thanked the odd organism, who retracted the ligament, and it poofed its way out of sight. One day, she thought often to herself, she would have them do a reverse summoning, so she could at last see their natural, or perhaps unnatural to her, environment.

Suomi lifted a knee, pushed her weight onto it, and stood up to leave the dismal space. If two ninja were tagging along behind her, she was sure she could leave the mansion safely, and if they did have an issue with it - they could always stop her.

As she headed out the main entrance, wearing her retrieved dark sandals, she wondered where exactly she expected to end up in the village now that she was "home". Were there people there who still even remembered her? The blonde shut the door firmly behind her, causing a wave of sand debris to cascade down from the frame, and she shrugged away any plaguing doubts of perhaps fallen comrades and her future; she would start at her roots and work from there. Clouds of sand followed in her dusty tracks.


	8. Siblings

Thank you to Rain-kawa, who actually helped with the plot without realizing it, Fox Princess Kit, and younggem for the reviews left on the last chapter! I hope you all enjoy!

* * *

While passing through the almost vacant streets of Sunagakure, Suomi noticed that all of the buildings that stood against the bright sky were ones that she recognized. Of course she had only been gone for a few years, but she expected at least a _little_ change. She began childishly twisting her arm from back to front, taking interest in the loose, gaping sleeve of her robe, and glanced up at the shops bordering the road every once in awhile - just to make sure she was tottering off in the right direction. Nameless passerby waved at her, commenting casually that it had been some time since they last saw her, and she cordially greeted back. Those who didn't know her personally obviously didn't hear of her reported death, since they were common among shinobi, and the public probably heard only rumors of a mysterious girl being left in the village the night of the attack; yet the peculiar feeling that some wouldn't be so pleased at the knowledge of her survival still lingered.

Finally, her padded steps on the gritty sand ceased when she came upon a worn, clay constructed home, set on the outskirts of the village, that portrayed the same round style seen throughout the area. Not knowing quite how to act in the situation, she simply knocked with a cautious, almost sickly pale hand on the faded rouge door. Sprays of dust fell from the frame, just as it did with every entryway here, before someone on the other side opened the passage. There stood a young girl with short, bright orange hair and a wardrobe that screamed her genin status. A kimono-like garb wrapped around her torso, splashed in a teal blue, and flowing bandages dangled beside her smoky gray shorts, with kunai pouches tightened to each of her legs on either side. As fiery locks clung to haunty cheeks, her lightly colored eyes gave a new black look at the older blonde.

"Suomi," she spoke with an obvious venom as the name left her lips, glaring all the while.

"Haruye," the girl returned with no warmth but instead surprise in her voice. Although only the few calendars passed, her sister's previous height had doubled and now she stood taller than the older sibling.

"How dare you come here."

"Excuse me?"

A spark of determination now flashed through the younger girl's sightful orbs, and Suomi had just a fraction of a second to spring back before the pre-teen flipped open her pouches and flung deadly kunai the blonde's way. She was suddenly grateful for the training she had received while working for assassins, and she leapt onto the roof of the curved home across the street. She calmly faced her sister and joked with a deadpan expression, "That's certainly a warm homecoming."

"There's no home for you here!" the inferno genin spat before flinging yet more weaponry and following in pursuit of the now fleeing chūnin. The summoner did not wish to fight with the new shinobi, mainly for liability's sake. One returned, aggressive gesture at any member of the village would surely land her right back in cell one - or worse. "It's all your fault!" the kimono girl continued to scream and throw as they hopped building after building, with the streets now becoming tan blurs with speckled colors as they whizzed by in the desert heat. Luckily, Suomi was still conditioned enough that she could dodge the mediocre projectiles, but her footing had become sloppy in the speedy chase. Each leap she stumbled on allowed the genin to draw closer and closer with the intent to kill.

"You've lost your edge, eh?" the younger sister smirked. "Looks like I'm finally better than you." The teenager took the instance to glance back at her attacker, and a new sense of alarm finally flooded into her gaze as she watched the girl weave several recognizable signs. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The blonde took a split second to pause before diving into an alley between two shops, sighing in relief as the launching fire bullets passed safely overhead.

"_Who knew the little tike could handle nature chakra; Itachi might have been impressed by the young display," _she thought to herself before giggling, and she then took the opportunity to race away on the lower turf. However, the brightly colored ninja was hot on her tail from above, though she withheld her aim as her older sister weaved about the couple dozen villagers out on lunch break. Many even stopped to assess the situation, but the rivalry was quickly out of view as Suomi continued to break for safer territory, away from the attacks cast out of revenge.

"What did I do?!" she cried in a comical manner before morphing her face back to a contrasting, apathetic expression. Though she still wanted an answer.

Behind, the child born of spring paused in her advance and Suomi was once again able to face the younger girl. However, now she remained several yards away from the emotional ball, despite feeling the atmosphere subside slightly in their one-sided battle.

"You left; you left!" she first mumbled the words but then repeated herself desperately as she showed signs of absolute anguish and hysteria. Now the rogue became even more perplexed as a single drop of uncommon sweat slid down her face. The blonde had never been close to her younger sister, that was her fault out of absence, and she accepted the fact for what it was. She wondered just how her disappearance could have possibly affected Haruye. "Our parents died because of you," the younger girl growled before sending more fireballs in the experienced kunoichi's direction.

Her periwinkle eyes grew wide with alertness as she muttered, "Shit, shit, shit," over and over again, trying to maneuver around the flowering heat zipping past as she literally bent over backwards with odd, laughable expressions plastered across her features. This display continued for several minutes.

Once the fiery girl had run dry of chakra, and many gymnastic tricks later, the blonde sister questioned the other further, baring honest concern, and the genin painted the story as she fell to her knees, exhausted at last.

The mother had grown worried during Suomi's last mission for Suna, and when her team had arrived home without her daughter, she sought out the culprits - who created the traps that supposedly took the girl's life - in Iwagakure. The confident woman did in fact return, but she was only a lifeless husk - carried in a bodybag by the close comrades who had accompanied her out of solely pity.

Haruye had never blamed her sibling through the passing years, but the night the village faced peril - her views twisted. Their father, the one who had been there to console her through the hard times of loss, had been on patrol of the wall that evening; no one was reported to have survived the first slaughter. Though, before even learning of her guardian's death, she sensed the chakra signature of someone she had mourned for. Even without knowing the circumstances of Suomi's return, the spring child did not chalk it up as a coincidence. Later she even felt Suomi using some sort of jutsu in the direction of the wall, and darkly wondered if her "dear" sister had found the body of their father while shifting through the rumble. Apparently, she hadn't.

"I'm sorry," the teenager whispered as her pale eyes grew moist with sympathy. She had never expected she could affect her family so much.

"'Sorry' doesn't cut it," the kimono girl's voice curdled with hatred and the older shinobi recognized their mother's spite had filtered down to her as well. The genin sent one more cannon jutsu her way before recklessly collapsing.

"You always did stress your limits." The blonde stepped toward Haruye and focused her chakra enough in her feet so that she could support the weight of the average girl.

When she returned to the place she once called home, Suomi set the younger one on the slick leather couch of the living room. The small girl scanned the natural clay crafted home, and hardly recognized anything contained within it. The furniture and flower themed plates her mother had cherished were absent from the shown space, and the entire house was layered with a thin coat of dust, as if it hadn't been cleaned since their father's death. She sadly chuckled, before strolling back to the living room and awkwardly standing in the center of it. Her sister had been right; it wasn't her home anymore.

Thinking to herself silently, while folding her arms behind her back. She had loved her mother, dearly, but their bond had been numb to the blonde since she left. She had convinced herself that Haruye would be enough for her happiness. Meanwhile, she was never that fond of their father; he was almost never home and his existence usually forgotten in the family because of it. Suomi was glad he had stepped up in their mother's absence though; she gave him that.

Then there was the little orange-haired academy student she had left behind. The poor child had always been compared to the basics-expert kunoichi, and their "sisterly bond" certainly lacked. The blonde took every mission she could after she became a genin, and after the chūnin exams - she sought the power of ninjutsu. Although she had never spoke it aloud, she had always envied those who were born with a natural kekkei genkai and yearned to compete on their level. Her match-ups were lucky ones up until the third round in the finals, for that's when an Iwagakure ninja had taken her out with his first earth-style, inescapable box. However, because of her actions in the previous battles, she had still passed, along with a few other select shinobi from the rival shadow villages.

Little did she know at the time, it would be several more grueling, taijutsu filled months before she could finally lower her fists and summon her greatest weapons and friends.

* * *

After shutting the front door behind her, Suomi cast her gaze out again onto the shifty road. Sunagakure's version of rush hour was still at its height, and the girl wondered how the villagers could bustle at such a pace. The blistering sun above definitely took its toll on the blonde, on top of the energy drain from the skirmish before, and she pleadingly wished the olive color of her robes were a lighter shade of green.

She permanently shielded her sightful orbs with her left hand, revealing the minuscule specks of dark cyan nail polish that still lingered through the weeks, and knew that she would have to get used to this climate again. Not only did it hinder her senses, but she also questioned how she could summon her blob creatures here. Before it was a strangely humid night, and the last time she was in the shadows of the air conditioned halls of the house, so what would she do now that the air was back to being arid and bright outside?

The small kunoichi paused in her tracks near the very edge of the road, out of the scurrying villagers' way, and let her sleeved fall to her side. She peered up through violently squinted eyes at the cloudless, blue sky. Not a single thing hung above to offer any moisture or shade, and Suomi guessed that any shadows she could prey upon would have to come from the ground level now. No longer did leaves or mist blanket overhead and work in her favor, even for small-scale-summonings. "Maybe staying wouldn't be in my best interest after all."

The girl wrapped in the flowing robes kicked up a pile of the scorching sand that littered the constantly moving road, instantly regretting it when she winced in pain, before continuing back to her temporary residence. On the way, she took notice of the shops that lined the street, with their colorful, vibrant merchandise contrasting the dented, rough, clay exterior that kept the stores almost uniform in appearance. She would have to ask Kankurō for an allowance if she was to have separate food, a proper pillow case, and even just feminine products. Just because she was an acquaintance of Temari's, didn't necessarily mean she was allowed to dig through her bathroom cabinets.

Once the ninja returned home, the building was still vacant of any shinobi soul. She couldn't assume just any soul; she was certain creeping, crawling creatures still lurked within the unused rooms. Although, Suomi was convinced it wouldn't be long until her tails caught up and resumed their perch above on the roof, so they might continue their assigned stalking. Entering the designated space that remained bathed in the brilliant rays of the desert, she again lost a sense of purpose in her actions. She was neither hungry nor particularly fatigued, so she let herself ponder as she slumped down onto her bed in an uncaring, hunched over position. Whether she stayed in the village or not wasn't her decision right now, so maybe she should work to adapt?

The dirty blonde carefully lowered her knees to the floor and peg-legged her way to the direct light, streaming through the single-paned window. Biting her thumb for the millionth time in her career, she let the blood smear onto her palm before weaving the signs she suspected she repeated even in her sleep. Suomi poured the least amount of controlled chakra she could manage into her hand, and when the cloud of summoning smoke cleared - nothing sat in front of her.

"Expected," she sighed, already exasperated for she could tell it would be a long journey to master her skill in the new environment. This time, using the recycled warm liquid, she let the largest surplus of chakra flow from her outstretched palm and even used her left hand to steady her trembling right. Again the clouds appeared, and now when they parted, her usual scouting partner - still the size of her childish pinky - tilted its round dome toward her chakra signature.

Her hands fell to her sides, she slumped down to where her butt plopped against the stucco floor, and her mouth hung slightly agape. Then, within seconds of the initial jutsu, the blob poofed out of sight once more. "Oh shit," her palms now cradled her racked conscience, "I'm screwed here!" Even her greatest efforts, though unconditioned, she couldn't even apparate a real threat anymore. "No, no, no!" she screeched to herself as her speckled nails raked her face. The kunoichi had finally grown secure in her abilities of ninjutsu, when helping to rebuild such a large scale project as Sunagakure's outer wall in the uncommon air, and now her confidence was dashed in daylight.

However, before she could worry much further, her own hand struck itself harshly across her cheek. Now was not the time to throw a hissy fit - not with the spies about. She sighed more solemnly and deeply then, and flung her body back onto the aged mattress. Periwinkle eyes took within view the still uncleared ceiling and she assured herself with, "Just start from the bottom-up again. You did it then and you can do it again." Suomi closed her pales eyes and wished for a now wanted, comforting nap to envelop her drained senses.


End file.
